Taking photographs at a birthday or a wedding has become as natural as blowing out candles or cutting the cake. But our obsession with recording every detail of our happiest moments could be damaging our ability to remember them, according to new research. A study has shown that taking pictures rather than concentrating fully on the events in front of us prevents memories taking hold.
Dr. Linda Henkel, from Fairfield University, Connecticut, described it as the "photo-taking impairment effect". She said: "People so often pull out their cameras almost mindlessly to capture a moment, to the point where they are missing what is happening right in front of them. When people rely on technology to remember for them—counting on the camera to record the event and thus not needing to attend to it fully themselves—it can have a negative impact on how well they remember their experiences."
Dr Henkel and her team carried out an experiment in a museum, to learn if taking pictures of the exhibits was hindering the ability of visitors to remember what they had seen.
A group of university students were led on a tour at the Bellarmine Museum of Art at Fairfield University and were asked to either photograph or try and remember objects on display. The next day their memory was tested. The results showed that people were less accurate in recognizing the objects they had photographed than those they had only looked at. It was found that their memory for the details of the objects they had photographed was poorer.
Henkel's lab is currently investigating whether the content of a photo, such as whether you are in it, affects later memory. She is also researching whether actively choosing what to photograph might influence what we remember.
Previous research suggests that reviewing photos we have taken does help us remember the objects, but only if we take the time.
"Research has suggested that the sheer volume and lack of organization of digital photos for personal memories discourages many people from accessing and recalling them. In order to remember, we have to access and interact with the photos, rather than just collect them," said Dr Henkel.
What does the word “them”, in the first paragraph, refer to?

A．Gifts at a birthday.

B．People who go to parties.

C．Photos taken at a wedding.

D．Details of the happiest moments.

What is the “photo-taking impairment effect”?

A．Some unhappy events may impair the effects of photos.

B．Taking photographs of objects ruins one’s memory of them.

C．The effects of photos are strongly affected by bad cameras.

D．Memories last forever when people take the photos they like most.

What can we learn about Dr. Linda Henkel’s study?

A．A group of high school students were involved.

B．The memory of participants was tested the following week.

C．People who just looked at the objects remembered fewer details.

D．People who photographed objects were worse at recognizing them.

With which of the following may Dr. Linda Henkel agree?

A．Reviewing photos improves memories of objects.

B．Focusing on people at events is the best way to remember.

C．Relying on technology to remember affects the memory.

D．Counting on cameras to record events is always reliable.

The passage is probably taken from________.

A．a health magazine	B．a cultural overview
C．an economics report	D．an entertainment website

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